STATEMENT BEFORE PGCB
Allentown

May 22, 2006

Chairman Decker and Members of the PA Gaming Control Board:

My name is Dianne Berlin, coordinator for CasinoFreePA.  This statement represents the collective voice of groups and individuals who have grave concerns about the proposed casinos here in PA. 

Background checks are still not completed yet employees are still working and you are also awarding some related licenses.

Gambling is no ordinary business and it is crucial that every step is treated with as much caution as one would with a nuclear power plant.

Your name is also the mandate to control not accommodate the gambling interests.

The community groups and individuals already put on the defensive need and want to be treated with respect and consideration.  As long as the slots applicants can change their applications, we are asking for new hearings to be held no sooner than two months after the final changes to the applications so that citizens and communities can give testimony relevant to those changed applications.
 
In addition to the independent traffic impact studies you are having done, we are requesting that two other equally important INDEPENDENT studies be completed before any further licensing is done. INDEPENDENT means NO connection with gambling interests PERIOD. 

First:  independent environmental impact studies following  the attached outline  (NOTE: See SCOPING QUESTIONS on main menu on home page.) 
Second:  specific independent studies on the impact on social systems delivery infrastructure. 

We also request that a panel of independent academic experts on computers and gambling equipment be assembled to prove beyond a doubt that the slot machines and any of the related equipment including the computer system are not fraudulent or able to be manipulated.   The possibility of remote manipulation of any of this equipment poses serious concerns.

Ordinary citizens need to understand just how these electronic gambling devices and equipment work before one penny is allowed to be wagered.

We are also requesting written responses to all citizen correspondence with this Board..

CasinoFreePA requests a moratorium on all hiring until ALL background checks are completed and a moratorium on all licensing at least until all studies are completed and until a minimum of two months after the newly elected legislature and governor are installed. 

Erring on the side of caution in these efforts may help prevent more costly mistakes and possible future litigation for all concerned especially the taxpayers of Pennsylvania who were excluded from the legislative process on Act 71.

Thank you.

Dianne M. Berlin
717-575-2771
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STATEMENT BEFORE PGCB
Harrisburg
April 7, 2006
Gettysburg hearing at Harrisburg

Chairman Decker and Members of the PA Gaming Control Board:

Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

My name is Dianne Berlin, coordinator for CasinoFreePA, a statewide coalition of groups and individuals opposing casino gambling in Pennsylvania.  I am also vice chair of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling. No, I am not here to debate.

Fortunately, the site in my own county was eliminated.  But, for the record, I oppose all the applications including Gettysburg. 

The rest of my statement is to plead on behalf of other ordinary citizens in this process.

People have panicked after finding out that their community or neighborhood is targeted by one of the gambling companies.  Some have just found out and are upset that they missed the opportunity to testify in person.

The targeting of communities by the gambling interests and these hearings have pitted neighbor against neighbor, community against community making most opponents look like NIMBYs when the majority of opponents I have met are really NIMS ……. Not In My State but that issue is not yours to deal with.

These hearings are the first opportunity for citizens to be heard on the casino issue as Act 71 was passed with ZERO citizen scrutiny, hearings or input.

The license applicants were given a deadline of Dec. 21 for their impact reports.  Those reports should have been made available to the public at that time but, delays continued, reports were changed and even now most are incomplete as they do not address the negative socio-economic impacts which do exist despite the denial of the gambling promoters.

The citizens were already placed in a defensive position by Act 71.  These hearings should have been delayed to give them at least two months to examine the impact reports.

Most citizens have little or no experience addressing the impact issues of gambling let alone addressing them regarding a casino which is targeting their town. 

These important hearings should all be held in the community of the proposed site.   They should be scheduled for both day and evening which would allow more community participation. 

Every member of this well paid board should be in attendance at each hearing.

It is understandable that there is not unlimited time but three minutes is very little time to address the many concerns. 

The applicant is already given 37 minutes more than the individual citizen.  They should not be given more time at the end of these sessions unless citizens and groups are allowed the same privilege.

The disadvantaged citizens are not allowed to show videos, etc.  Yet, visuals are allowed for the applicants.  Those visuals should be removed after the presentation so that they do not distract from other testimony.

Applicants are making a sales pitch. 

The citizens are trying to deal with the prospects of uninvited gambling establishments in a reasonable and credible way.  Most come and respond at great expense to themselves.

I am asking that you give as much weight to each of the citizen presentations as you do to the applicants.  They deserve more consideration than the applicants if your role as a regulatory and control body is to be credible.

These people must live with the decisions you make long after you leave this board.

Dianne M. Berlin
717-575-2771